After the battle
by Iron cheeks
Summary: After the battle against Thanos in infinity war. The survivors meet up, grief and character deaths. Spoilers
1. Chapter 1

After watching his family one by one disappear into a pile of dust, Clint sat outside the farm house staring out into the open. The wind rustled the trees in the woods, a hovercraft is landing. After losing so much Clint couldn't bring himself to care if they were here to kill him. It would be a relief if they did. Steve, Bruce and Natasha exited the now visible hover craft. They walked up towards him.

"No", Natasha mumbled as she fell to her knees in front of Clint. She didn't need Clint to tell her, she knew, she always knew.

"Your hair, it's not red", Clint pointed out as he ran a hand through the soft locks. "Your family is dead and you're commenting on my hair?" Natasha questioned him.

"Our family", Clint corrected her. She's aunty Nat and she will always be aunty Nat. Natasha smiled slightly for the first time in days. The smile briefly disappeared.

"Who survived?" Clint asked Steve as he interlocked his fingers with Natasha's. "Us, Thor, Stark is missing most likely dead, we still have to check on other people. Fury and Hill aren't picking up", Steve answered him as he sat down beside Clint.

"You coming with us?" Natasha asked him. Clint looked back to the farm house where just hours ago his family were laughing and enjoying life. Cooper had shown an interest in archery for the first time.

"I was going to teach him. Cooper, he wanted to learn to shoot the bow", Clint told them. Steve placed his hand on Clint's shoulder for support.

"I can't stay here. I don't know what I'll end up doing. I need to pack a few things", Clint said as he stood up and walked back into his home for the last time. The house is too quiet. His red cheeks slowing fading back to their normal shade.

Natasha followed him in, slowly wandering room to room. She stopped when she found a photo album, picking it up and looking at a picture of the three kids. A tear fell down her cheek. She closed it again when Clint came in.

"The one thing I've never seen you do is cry", he pointed out. She was crying now. Love is for children and she god damn loved those children. Clint had his emergency bag on his back, a gun in his holster around his waist and a staff in his left hand. Clint took the photo album from her,

"I was an idiot to think it would last. I thought about this day every so often. Like what would I do if they all were killed. I just didn't think it would be by the snap of a purple grapes fingers. What's his name anyways?" Natasha sighed, "Thanos".

Natasha followed Clint out to the hover craft. Steve frowned slightly, "where's your bow?" Clint sighed,

"I'm not using it anymore. I can't fight aliens with a bow and arrow". He nodded as Natasha went to the pilot seat and began the pre flight checks. Clint sat down beside her in the co pilot seat.

"Since when can you pilot?" He asked her with a smirk.

"She can't. She nearly killed us trying to land", Bruce perked up, giving Natasha a shrug when she glared at him. Clint flipped a switch on the controls giving him control. He brought them into the air and then gave Natasha back the controls.

"Where we headed Cap?" Natasha asked him. "New York, I guess we could start there", Steve informed them.

"What's the plan?" Clint asked him. "There isn't one. We're going to try to piece everything back together again I guess", Steve replied as he lay down.

"Nat, how long till we reach New York?" Clint yawned suddenly feeling the tiredness of everything catching up on him. "A little under an hour", Natasha put the plane on auto pilot and sat down beside Clint. Clint laid down with his head on her lap.

"I don't know I'd do if lost you", Natasha ran her fingers through his hair. "Too soon Nat, too soon", he told her as he shut his eyes.

"I'm sorry", Natasha apologised to him. "I'm going to need to cool off before I can sleep", Clint mumbled his eyes remaining shut.

"That can be arranged", she smiled down at him. Steve glared at them.

"Are you two seriously talking about fondue in front of us?" Steve continued, "come on man, your wife just died".

Natasha frowned, "what is fondue?" Clint smirked. "Seriously what is fondue?" Natasha asked more harshly. She never liked being in the dark.

"Sex", Clint informed her.

"His wife just fucking died and you think I'm going to try get with him that quickly!" Natasha glared at him. "You're right, I'm sorry", Steve nodded.

"Go easy on him Nat", Clint mumbled half asleep, taunted by memories of people he would never see again.

"What Clint meant by letting of steam before falling asleep was doing a work out. It's something he always did after a tough mission", Natasha explained after taking a few deep breaths.

"He's asleep now isn't he?" Bruce asked. Natasha shook her head, "far from it, he's in a state of shock where he can't do anything else". Steve closed his eyes, choosing to nap too.

"Clint we're almost there", Natasha spoke for the first time in that hour. Clint woke up immediately, sitting up before heading to the pilots seat. "Nat?" Clint called to her as he patted the seat beside him. She took the seat and watched him land in the avengers base.

"When you gave out to Steve earlier and hitting on me that quickly after Laura. That quickly implies you were going to hit on me", Clint smirked at her. "Shut up and land the stupid plane", Natasha told him with a smirk. He always saw what other people didn't.

"I remember when I first brought you home. Laura thought I was bringing home a girlfriend. She nearly killed me that night", Clint smiled at the memory. Natasha smiled thinking back to it, "she mentioned that night a year or two ago, she said that what made her believe my story and that we weren't cheating on her was that every time you came into the room I flinched and tensed up and when you left I relaxed. I opened up to her more than anyone".

Clint unhooked his seatbelt and opened the cockpit door. They followed Steve around the avengers base.

"Natasha!" Pepper exclaimed win relief and ran to hug Natasha.

"They..they..they disappeared and Tony is in a spaceship somewhere God knows where. God he better be alive. I should have told him. He guessed and I denied it", Pepper cried onto Natasha's shoulder. Natasha wrapped her arms around the other woman. "We don't know where Tony is. He's Tony though so he is stubborn enough to stay alive. What did he guess?" Pepper took a step back, her hands hovering over her stomach.

"I'm carrying the next generation of Stark. I can not do this alone", Pepper panted for air. Clint put her hands on his shoulders, "Pepper look at me, you are not alone. You have us, even if Tony doesn't return we won't leave you. I am a dad, or I was. I will help, Steve will help and Bruce will help". Pepper nodded as her breathing became more regular.

"I ehh don't know how safe the Hulk is around kids", Bruce mumbled. Pepper smiled at him, "Tony believed in you, that's enough for me".


	2. Chapter 2

"The place is clear, no one else survived", Steve said after doing a quick sweep of the Avengers facility. Pepper nodded in agreement. Clint glanced at Natasha and nodded slightly in the direction of the gym.

"It's getting late. None of us has slept in a few days. Maybe we should crash for the night. Head off to find the others tomorrow", Natasha suggested.

Steve nodded, "she's right. We'll be back searching tomorrow morning 6am". Clint headed to the gym without another word.

"How far along are you?" Bruce asked Pepper as they both headed in the direction of the kitchen. "11 weeks. I feel huge already", Pepper told him. Bruce smiled as he started dinner for everyone.

Clint set up the punching bag and was about to start before Natasha came in

"Clint how many times do I have to tell you; Stretch!" Clint rolled his eyes. "Give me a break. My wife and kids just died", he muttered under his breath. Natasha turned around to face him.

"Half the fucking population in the galaxy died you idiot. Stop being so selfish." Clint looked down and nodded, "you're right. I'm sorry. Its just its hard you know. We lost everything growing up then we're part of this amazing group of gods and geniuses and then a snap of the fingers and all that's gone". Natasha guided Clint through basic stretches before leading him to the mat to spar.

Clint blocked Natasha's every move, not making a move for himself.

"Clint come on", Natasha sighed feeling the anger build up over the fact that she couldn't make a hit.

"Can we use weapons?" Clint asked her. Natasha nodded as Clint pulled a staff out of his jacket and expanded it to its 6ft length. Natasha smirked and threw the staff out of his grasp within 2 minutes. Clint tapped her thighs as they surrounded his neck.

"I win", Natasha smiled as she headed for the showers. Clint took a second to get his breath back before following her lead and going to the showers.

Clint turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water. Clint sighed and clenched his fists reality coming flying back. Tears fell down his cheeks.

"Laura I miss you", he mumbled to nobody. Clint got out of the shower threw on a pair of boxers and sat down against the wall. He picked up his phone and dialled Laura's number waiting for the voicemail.

"Hello this is Laura. I can't get to the phone right now. Copper put that down. Too busy with the kids haha. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can".

Natasha walked in on Steve and Bruce arguing over baby names. She sat down beside Pepper after getting a plate full of food.

"Why are they arguing over baby names?" Natasha asked. Motherhood conversations still confused her. Laura had tried to explain it but there was still somethings she missed out on.

"I'm not too sure considering it's not their kid and they don't get a say. It's up to Tony and I", Pepper smiled at her. "Morgan. We're naming him Morgan. That was the name from Tony's dream". Bruce smiled at her, he'd miss Tony too. A silence fell over the team, Clint came in and joined them a while later.

"I still can't believe half of the team are gone", Pepper said breaking the silence.

"Wanda was just a kid, she deserved to live longer than that. She deserved a better life without anyone being scared of her", Clint said remembering her.

"I remember one time we were testing out the extent of Wanda's powers while simultaneously messing with Clint. We got him to fire at the target and Wanda would blow up the arrow before it got to the target", Natasha told them with a laugh. "That was not funny. I thought I killed you", Clint argued back.

"She got me to aim at her and shoot. Wanda didn't stop the arrow though. It went right through". Steve looked slightly worried for Natasha while checking for signs of being shot.

"It was weird and freaky. It was so real", Clint admitted.

"I remember a time Tony tried to teach me how to use the ironman suit. I went through a wall", Pepper laughed at the memory. They all smiled at the thought of it.

"He might not be dead. First thing tomorrow morning we'll start looking", Bruce reassured her. Pepper nodded and smiled at them.

"I'm feeling really tired. I'm going to go to bed", Pepper announced. They all said good night before turning their attention back to each other.

"Who wants a drink?" Natasha asked. Clint and Steve raised their hands. Natasha got out drinks for them.

"Vodka okay?" Clint smiled and nodded. It wouldn't be Natasha without vodka. "Vodka is good", Clint said in a Russian accent.

"I will hit you", Natasha warned him. Bruce retired to bed along with Pepper.

"Night Bruce", Natasha smiled at him. Clint chuckled and took a shot of vodka. Natasha and Steve joined him.

"I was thinking Pepper and I could organise a ceremony to grieve everyone's losses", Natasha reflected out loud. Steve offered to help.

"I haven't even thought a funeral yet. When half the population dies do you hold a funeral?" Clint asked them. Natasha leaned into Clint, wrapping an arm around him.

"I think you should. The funeral is more for yourself. To let you grieve", Steve explained to him.

"What if they come back though? What if they're not really dead? What if they're in a parallel universe?" Clint bargained.

"They're gone Clint. There's no point in getting your hopes up", Natasha ran her fingers through his hair. It's what his mom used to do to relax him, Laura did it too.

"I hope they're not dead either. Buck was just getting back to himself", Steve admitted.

"Bucky is dead?" Steve nodded in response. Steve took another shot of vodka despite not being able to get drunk.

"We should probably retire for the night", Steve suggested after looking at the time. "You're probably right cap", Clint said as he took the vodka and put in back in the fridge. Steve and Natasha headed towards their rooms.

"Natasha wait", Clint called to her. She stopped and waited for him.

"I um I don't want to be alone. I mean I haven't slept alone in two years. Mind sharing?" Clint asked slightly rambling. Natasha smiled at him, despite being partners for so long he was still as awkward as a twelve year old asking a girl out for the first time.

"No I don't mind. My bed though", Natasha could visibly see him relax at her response. Clint followed Natasha to her room. He striped to his boxers before getting in. "I need to shower first. I'm filthy from battle", Natasha told him. Clint fell into a light sleep.

 _He woke up slowly to the sound of Natasha's phone ringing on the counter. Clint opened his eyes and frowned when Natasha wasn't there. When the ringing stopped he felt the urge to pee and got up out of bed shivering at the cold. Clint flicked the light to the bathroom on._

 _"No Nat. No no no please no", he voice caught in his throat, only being able to get a whisper out. Clint fell to his knees in the pile of dust._

"Clint. Wake up!" Natasha called to him. Clint's eyes shot open. He looked around checking his surroundings. Natasha is alive.

"I need air", Clint announced as he struggled to catch his breath.

"No you need sleep. Back to bed", Natasha told him as she got in with him. Clint spooned her and held her as close as possible to him.

"Oh okay", Natasha said in slight shock. They had never been this intimate. There was nothing sexual about this, he was holding onto her like a child holds onto a teddy bear. Natasha relaxed into him but didn't sleep. She never could sleep this close to a man, it had been drilled into her and it never left. She could sleep in the same bed but not while cuddling. She would do anything for the man holding her right now though, she owed him her life.

The surviving avengers met up in the common room for breakfast. It was something that happened regularly before the accords. Clint frowned at a bill on the counter addressed to Virginia Potts.

"Wait your name isn't Pepper?" Clint asked shocked by the news. "No my name is Virginia, but that's too boring for Tony so I am Pepper now. He managed to get everyone at Stark industries and the media to call me Pepper too", Pepper explained.

"It's okay Clint changed my name too", Natasha smiled. "Hey, I have never made you do something you didn't want to", Clint defended himself.

"Yeah you just got Laura to do it," Natasha said with a laugh. They all laughed with her. Clint shrugged and nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve turned on the news, Clint and Natasha checked online updates and contact from others while Bruce and Pepper rang people to find out who was alive.

"Trump is dead", the news reporter announced. All heads turned to the tv.

"Throughout all this confusion, we can sadly report that the president of the United States Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth of England and King T'challa of wakanda are among the deceased". Bruce sighed.

"There's nothing from Hill or Fury", Clint informed them. They had to assume the worst.

"We still need to contact Antman," Clint mentioned to Steve who nodded in acknowledgement.

"What do we do now?" Pepper asked. She was so used to schedules and deadlines but what happens when half the population in the world dies. Steve stood up and leant on the back of the kitchen chair. He took in a deep breath.

"Get gather up who is left and avenge those we lost. As Tony once said if we can't protect the earth you'll be damn well sure we'll avenge it", Steve gave them a pep talk.

"We gather everyone up, find Thor and make a plan for getting back at Thanos. Somehow I don't think we'll be alone. This affected the entire galaxy. We're alone. We need to team up and if we can get our team mates back. We are Earths mightiest heroes and earth needs us right now. We don't have shield to help us anymore. People are going to need guidance, hopefully Stark industries and wakanda can help with that."

Highway to hell by AC/DC blared through the speakers in the common room. Clint and Natasha went into fight mode. Steve looked confused. Bruce rolled his eyes knowing exactly who it is. Pepper grinned the relief evident on her face. She rested her hand on her stomach. She was wearing a tight blouse that showed her baby bump.

"He's alive", Pepper said reassuring herself. Tony flew down and landed outside, he retracted the ironman suit and went straight to Pepper. She kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Is this all that's left?" Tony asked with a shock in his voice. "We're not sure about Antman but yeah this is all", Steve confirmed. Tony nodded,

"Dr strange and Peter didn't". He didn't need to finish the sentence. They all knew what he meant.

"Friday do a diagnostics test", Tony instructed the AI. "Yes Sir". Natasha looked out the window, she frowned when she saw a swarm of ants approaching.

"I um think Antman is alive and outside", Natasha told them as she pointed to the ants. Scott appeared in front of them, Natasha jumped slightly although only Clint noticed. He laughed causing Natasha to glare at him.

"Is this everyone left?" Scott asked. Steve nodded as Natasha went to Clint's side.

"How's your family? Your daughter?" Steve asked him. Scott smiled, "yeah they're well. The stepdad is gone but Cassie and Maggie are alive. Thank God". Scott grabbed a glass of water.

Clint stepped outside without a word. Natasha follows him.

"Leave me alone", he shouted at her with tears in his eyes. Natasha folded her arms and stayed exactly where she was. The last thing Clint needed was to be alone.

"Go away Natasha," he shouted again. Natasha didn't budge.

"I'm a shit magnet. I lose everyone I ever loved. Mom and dad died when I was 7 years old, Barney when I was 16, Coulson 8 years ago, Laura, Coop, Lila and Nathaniel all gone. Leave me alone before I lose you too", Clint had tears running down his face. All he wanted right now was to be with Laura and their children.

"People die Clint. It's a part of life. We need to celebrate their lives, cherish the memories we have with them not the ones we won't get to make," Natasha told him as she ran her fingers rough his hair.

"Why do I have such shitty odds? I thought it was 50/50 not 4 to 1", Climt asked as he wiped his eyes.

"Why is Clint having a meltdown?" Tony whispered to Pepper. Pepper sighed, "no one else in Clint's family survived". Tony's breath was caught for a moment.

"Oh shit", he finally hugged Natasha and whispered "roof" into her ear.

Tony stopped them, "can I just say something? Clint you're not alone and you never will be again. If Natasha dies, you have me. If I die, you have Steve. if Steve dies you have Bruce. If Bruce dies, you have Pepper. If Pepper dies you still have my kid" Pepper groaned,

"I didn't even tell you yet". Tony smiled.

"It's obvious I mean you're showing, you have a bump and all. Plus Friday told me". Clint nodded taking in what Tony said. He knew he was right but he couldn't help but feel guilty because he couldn't save his own family.

"He just needs time and an arrow through Thanos' eye", Natasha explained to them as she brought Clint up to the roof.

"Thanks Nat", Clint smiled at her. He laid down on the roof looking up at the sky and clouds.

"Nat would we be able to visit Phil?" Clint asked her. Natasha looked over the edge. "Can't see why not. Do you want to put up a plaque for your..our family?" Clint smiled at her and nodded. Natasha sat down beside Clint and leant into him.

"I feel so lost. When Shield broke up at least we still had the avengers but know only half of the avengers are still alive", Natasha admitted.

"So you're pregnant", Tony commented when they all sat down on the couches.

"Yeah 11 weeks", Pepper answered him. "Did Peter or the magician make it?" Pepper asked him. Everyone's ears perked up at the sound of the kids name.

"No. No they didn't", Tony admitted feeling a slight tang of guilt. If he never got Peter involved in the avengers, he might be alive now.

"What do we do from here?" Scott asked. "We should probably try to get order back like some form of shield but without the whole hydra lurking in the background part", Tony offered an option.

"Like recruiting new avengers?" Bruce asked him. "Exactly", Tony smiled and agreed. They lost half their teammates.

"But what if we can get them back? What if we can kill Thanos and use the infinity hand thing to bring them back. Shouldn't we focus on that?" Steve disagreed with Tony.

"They're gone. There was no way in this that we would have won", Tony argued back. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't try", Bruce offered.

"Are you going to give up on us that easily?" Pepper asked as she placed Tony's hand on her stomach. Tony shook his head. He'd do anything to protect that child. "Alright", Tony agreed. The kids death had taken a toll on him.

Clint flicked his eyes open and grinned.

"I just had an idea", he said tapping Natasha on the arm. Natasha smirked at him, "that's not my arm". Clint blushed and pulled his hand away. "Um", Clint stuttered.

"Your idea?" She guided him and secretly enjoyed seeing a flustered Clint Barton.

"Right yeah. If Thanos can alter reality and time right? Could he bring Coulson back?" Clint watched as Natasha's face went from amusement to hope.

"I never told Coulson about Laura, I regret that everyday. He was like a dad to me and would have been a great grand father", Clint admitted to her. Natasha ran her fingers along his face, "are you sure you're not a secret genius? I mean you never even met Thanos and you came to that conclusion. Same thing with the tesseract you figured out that it could be opened from both sides before the scientists did. I saw the footage". Clint shrugged, he didn't care.

"Come on. I wanna see if Tony thinks it's possible", Clint grinned as he helped Natasha up.

Clint grinned and waited for a response.

"Yeah I'd say it's possible. I guess Agent brought us together in New York and he is bringing us together again", Tony replied to Clint while mentally noting to test Clint's IQ. Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony's nickname for Phil.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed. The support is amazing. I spaced out the story, hopefully it's easier to read. xx I love the theory that Clint is a secret genius ;)**

"You know what I find funny? When Loki attacked New York in 2012, we won. When Ultron attacked Sokovia in 2015, we won. When Thanos attacks in 2018, we lost," Clint pondered out loud. Natasha frowned at him. "and your point is?" Clint grinned.

"You lost because I wasn't there", Clint chuckled. "Shut up you smug bastard. While we were all fighting Thanos you were probably sitting on your ass watching cartoons", Natasha responded. Neither of them did well being coaxed up in a small environment. "You don't think I don't hate the fact that I wasn't there to help?"

"Alright, no fighting! We have to stay together", Steve scolded them. Clint sighed and sat down on one of the couches, Natasha sitting in his arms despite fighting two seconds ago.

"I swear they're bipolar", Tony whispered to Pepper who glared at him.

"Has anyone heard from Thor?" Tony asked the team. "He went with the racoon to find the rest of their team," Steve answered him. Clint frowned, "the racoon? You got a concussion buddy?" Natasha laughed.

"There actually was a racoon, some kind of science experiment," she briefly explained to him. Tony clasped his hands together and held them close to his heart.

"They're gone. They disappeared one by one right infront of us right before Peter.." He couldn't finish the sentence. The guilt was too intense.

"The kid shouldn't have been in the spaceship. He made a choice to not be an Avenger. He's just a kid", Tony rambled on. Pepper hugged him close to her until Tony calmed down. They all suffered a great loss; the best thing to do is to work together.

"I was thinking that people to Thanos killed with the infinity glove could be stuck in the infinity stones", Bruce suggested. "I mean if Thanos could bring Vision back after Wanda destroyed the mind stone then he would have the power to bring back everyone he killed by wiping out half the universe". Tony thought about what he said. Clint looked up; he'd do anything for a chance of bringing his family back.

"Sir aircraft approaching," Friday warned them. The donut spaceship of Thanos flashed before his eyes. The whole team looked worried and exhausted.

"Not again," Natasha moaned to herself. She had gotten used to having downtime after missions, gotten too comfortable.

The aircraft landed outside the facility, only knocking two trees over. Natasha stepped outside, followed by Clint and then the rest of the team. Thor and Rocket stepped out of the aircraft. Bruce sighed with relief. "Thank god you're alive. Have you checked in with Jane and Darcy?" Pepper asked them as she hugged Thor. Tony is great and all but Thor's arms. He really does look the part.

"Please tell us you have a plan," Bruce exclaimed. "I had a plan", Steve argued. Tony scoffed, "you had 12% of a plan". Pepper invited them inside. "Even better. We have Thanos' plan," Rocket grinned at them. Thor nodded and grinned as he searched for a box of poptarts.

"How did you get it out of him?' Natasha asked him. Her mind started to wander about possible scenarios. "Let's just say once you electrocute a guy enough. They tend to talk." Rocket grinned as he sat down. "Not if they're trained," Clint objected.

"No one is trained for the wrath of my hammer," Thor proudly announced. Tony burst out laughing. Steve glared at him.

"Aww come on. The dude made a dick joke", Tony said defending himself. Rocket snickered and Clint and Natasha held back a smile. "No he literally electrocuted someone with lightning," Bruce explained despite Tony already catching on.

"So what's Thanos' plan?" Steve asked. Rocket avoided eye contact. Thor sighed. "His plan is to go into the past and kill the avengers before my brother attacked New York," Thor explained.

Tony's mind immediately searched through ways to time travel. Bruce focused on breathing. Clint and Natasha worried for their family. Leaving the kids without a father was one of Clint's greatest nightmares. Steve shook his head. The future seemed advanced enough in 2012, time travel was not something he imagined possible. Sam frowned he wasn't a member of the original avengers but he doubted that would stop Thanos.

Scott grinned; he wanted to share this technology for ages.

"Then we go back further and warn Shield, warn the avengers," Scott told them. "Pym has the technology. It's dangerous and possibly won't work." Tony frowned.

"How does Mr.I just got out of jail have the technology to time travel?" Tony asked Scott. He phoned Hank Pym, crossing his fingers hoping he survived. "This guy will explain it. Although there is only two other suits". Pym didn't answer. Scott ignored the worry in his stomach.

"Okay from what I know it's basically my antman suit shrinks me to the size of an ant right? Well it can shrink me to the quantum level and time moves a lot slower there or not at all. It's like another dimension. It's extremely hard to get out of though. I was only able to get out of it using an enlargement disc. At least that's what I presume I did. I don't remember anything from it," Scott explained the best he could. Bruce and Tony were intrigued. Everyone else was slightly lost.

"It could work," Tony whispered to himself.

"It's extremely hard to get out of though, Hank's wife is stuck down there since 87," Scott warned them again.

"What if you go back too far or kill yourself?" Pepper asked. "That's called the grandfather principle. If I went back and killed my grandfather then I would cease to exist and there would be no one to kill my grandfather. It creates a paradox," Tony explained to them. "So is back to the future completely wrong?" Clint pouted. Natasha snickers as Bruce nodded in confirmation.

"Enough standing around like idiots. Are we doing this or what?" Rocket asked. "The rabbit is right we must warn us before Thanos kills us," Thor agreed with Rocket. Clint grinned but they were all too used to Thor mixing up animals. They couldn't blame him. They would be hopeless at naming Asgardian animals.

"What about everyone that died when Thanos snapped his fingers? Are they still alive? Where are they?" Natasha asked Thor. Thor thought about how best to put it.

"It is hard to know for sure. I suspect that they are in another world. That is what the soul stone does. I do not believe that they are dead. I do however fear on Odin's beard that they are stuck in an alternative universe. Whether that is a good place, I do not know", Thor explained to them.

"I'll need a lift to Hank's to get the other suit and more enlargement discs. Who is going with me?" Scott asked. "Me", Tony announced after some thought.

"No! I already thought I lost you once," Pepper stopped him. Pepper placed his hand on her stomach. "He needs you. Please Tony. Don't do this," Pepper begged with tears in her eyes.

"All the more motivation to get back," he told her. " saved me and gave up the time stone to save me, a selfish bastard. It's meant to be me," Tony explained to them.

"He searched through 14 billion and 650 possible outcomes and this was the only one," Tony said before kissing Pepper possibly for the last time.

"I'll fly the quinjet. Get you there and come straight back. I'd say a lot of the air control centres are down, going have to be careful", Clint told them.

"Actually it would probably be handy having you there with us. Shield trusts you, it'd be easier to convince them if we had a top Shield agent with us", Scott explained.

"Pym has been working on another suit, not sure if it's working yet though", Scott checked his phone again. Pym hadn't responded. He ignored the sick feeling in his stomach. "Time travel huh?" Clint smiled at them. His favourite movie was back to the future but they were going back to one of the worst times in his life. He had no control at that time; mind control was not something he wanted to experience again.

"You will have to get Loki on your side. Explain everything to him and he should be on your side", Thor instructed them. "Stark or Scott that's your job. I do not want to be anywhere near a mischievous Loki again", Clint interjected. Thor smiled.

"My brother took a liking to you, man of hawk. I am afraid you might be the only one who he would listen to", Thor responded to Clint. Clint shook his head and backed towards the exit. Natasha stood up and went to his side.

"Clint, can I speak to you for a second?" Natasha asked him. Clint frowned slightly but nodded. He followed Natasha up to the roof. That way they knew no one followed them.

"Clint you need to do this. If a god sees potential in you then you don't question it", Natasha told him. "I question everything Nat. That's why I'm here. I do what I think is best," Clint informed her. Natasha nodded knowing he was right. It took the team a little getting used to but once they realised that Clint really did know what he was doing they discovered why he was on the team. After all he was the only avenger to get there through pure hard work and dedication.

"I'll do it. I meant how could I not. I'll get to see Laura and Phil again," Clint told her. Natasha smiled as she leant into him. Clint immediately wrapped his arms around her. Natasha was silent for a bit before she wiped her eyes.

"What if you don't come back? I can't lose my best friend. I can't believe you have me crying you jerk", Natasha asked with a slight laugh at the end.

It took Clint a moment to process that Natasha was crying. Emotions weren't his strong point, they hers either.

"I'll come back. If I don't sure I'll only be six years older", Clint joked. Natasha smiled wiping her eyes again; she blinked away the tears and kissed him on the cheek before grinning at him. "As if you aren't old enough", she teased him.

"Come on the guys are waiting on us", Clint led her outside to meet with the other Avengers.

Tony and Scott were waiting outside for them. They jumped slightly when the two master assassins jumped down. "I will never get used to that", Scott said with a laugh. Natasha smiled wickedly at him.

Tony led Scott and Clint to the quinjet. Clint would pilot the jet there. He specifically made sure to use the cloaking technology as to not freak everyone out.

"How will we know the right time to leave the quantum realm?" Tony asked Scott as they sat facing each other. "I was hoping Hank or you would know," Scott smiled at him. This was their only plan, the only way.

"I would need more time than we have. We might need to take it though if Hank doesn't know," Tony explained. "Well half the galaxy is literally resting on your shoulders so good luck," Clint smiled as he landed and left with them to find Hank Pym.

 **Thanks for reading xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**I had serious writer's block with this but came up with an amazing idea so I should be uploading regularly now :)**

"Hank?" Scott called as he knocked on the door. Clint and Tony stood back as a woman answered. They didn't know any of Scott's friends. Her cheeks were red. Tony glanced at her and sighed. Hank didn't make it. What were they to do now? She shook her head at Scott.

"He didn't make it. The snap, that's what they're calling it", Janet or otherwise known as the wasp told them. Scott followed her into the kitchen area, Clint and Tony followed after them.

"We have a plan to get them back, or at least to stop Thanos from killing the avengers before they even got together", Tony explained to her. She glared at Scott.

"You told them about the quantum realm?!" Janet inhaled a sharp breath. "no", she shook her head. It's not happening. Scott sighed and dragged her into another room shutting the door behind them.

"Thanos is going to kill all of the avengers and leave the earth defenceless. We have to try to fix it. Clint and Tony have agreed to go with me. They know the risks. Tony said that he had to be the one to go, something about a wizard. I don't know. Look we have to try. just give us the suits and you can have no involvement what so ever", Scott reasoned with her as he rambled on. Janet sighed and hugged him.

"You better come back and as if you could teach them how to use the suits on your own", she laughed slightly at the idea of it. They'd probably end up with a giant ironman, which is something they don't want. Scott smiled with relief as Janet went to get the suits.

Scott went back into the kitchen to see Clint and Tony discussing where they should go back to and where Thanos would most likely go back to.

"Janet is going to show you how to use the suits then we'll go. I'm assuming we don't have much time", Scott informed them. Clint nodded.

"We need to go back before Thanos destroys this timeline", Clint mentioned to them. Tony shook his head and smiled seriously thinking about testing Clint's IQ.

Janet came back with the suits and showed Clint and Tony how to use them. Clint found it harder to use than Tony. Tony was used to using his ironman suit. Clint's vision flashed through memories of Berlin. He was captured and water boarded until his lungs gave out. Natasha had to do CPR until Coulson arrived with the medical team. He nearly died from drowning. To this day he still believes the feeling of slowly feeling your lungs building up with water. The burning sensation in his chest. His lungs screaming. He tore the mask off his face.

"Careful", Scott remarked at him but Clint threw it at him. He needed air. He wasn't used to having something cover his face. Clint bent down to his knees and took in steady breaths. Tony motioned for Scott and Janet to stay inside. He went out Clint.

"You okay? What happened in there?" Tony asked him. Clint looked up at him for any signs of mistrust. He didn't find any. Tony could be a really nice person, he just needed to learn to shut his mouth. Clint stood up.

"You ever been water boarded?" Clint asked Tony. Tony glanced down and nodded. Clint nodded knowing Tony understood.

"I'll be fine", Clint told him as he went back in. Tony doesn't know where Clint gets the strength to keep going. Clint got back into the suit and strunk into an ants size and back to human size. He threw a shrinking disc at the fridge and then an enlargement one.

"Okay I got the hang of it", Clint told them. Tony nodded in agreement.

"Let's go then", Scott said as he shrunk down to the quantum level. Tony followed him.

"Wish me luck", Clint added before going to the quantum level. They decided to do it in Hank's house because he would understand what they are doing and wouldn't be too scared. That's assuming they'd end up in the same place. He went to the quantum level before she could answer.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott frowned when he landed in a corn field in the middle of no where. Tony appeared beside him seconds later. His stomach turned when Clint didn't appear for a few minutes after.

"Jesus Clint I thought you were stuck", Scott remarked. Tony stood up and looked around.

"Where are we? What year is it? Like the middle ages. Who farms anymore?" Tony rambled slightly. He grew up in New York and rarely went to the countryside. Scott pointed to a road about a 100 feet away.

Clint got up tearing the mask off himself. He paled as he looked around. He looked north just before a car came flying down the road. It was still a few miles away. He looked south to see another car coming the other way.

"Oh shit", Clint cursed and turned away moments before the two cars crashed. Tony frowned as he started to move in the direction of the cars.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" Scott asked Clint. Clint was frozen on the spot. No, no, no this couldn't be happening.

"That's my parents car. It's 12th September 1980", Clint told him. Scott shook his head and ran after Tony to help. Clint shook out his shock. Tony had gotten his dad out of the car and was getting his mom out. Feelings of being hurt flashed through Clint. The thought of his dad surviving this crash is unthinkable. He wouldn't go to the circus. He wouldn't learn archery. He wouldn't join Shield. He wouldn't have met Laura. He wouldn't have kids. Clint knelt down behind his father.

"Help me", his father begged him. Clint closed his eyes and twisted his neck. His mother screamed. Clint always hated the sound of that. Tony took a step back.

"What the fuck Clint?" He brought his hands up to his head. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Clint just snapped his own father's neck. Edith, Clint's mom, turned to Clint.

"Clint? My Clint? Please Clint", his mom pleaded with him. On the other hand, he would never bbe put in the system. He wouldn't feel abandoned. He wouldn't be bet by the swordsman everytime he missed the bullseye. He would never be raped. He would never kill. Clint shook his head and turned away from her.

"She can't survive. She can't. She is meant to die today. She just can't", Clint felt sick. He loved his mom but he also hated her for not leaving his dad. Not getting them out of that abusive home.

"Yes she can Clint. You have the opportunity now. She could survive, You'd never become an super secret assassin," Tony reasoned with him. He'd do anything to have his parents back. Clint pulled out a knife and flung it at her without looking at her. He looked back when he heard a scream. He missed. He never missed. Especially a stationary target. His hand felt weird. He lifted it up to look at it. It was disappearing. He was disappearing. Tony paled before snapping Edith's neck. He wasn't losing anymore friends.

Clint's hand reappeared.

"Holy shit that was weird", Clint held his hands together. Scott ran his hand over his face.

"If you're mom survived you didn't", Scott said justifying killing Clint's mom.

Clint nodded. He looked around.

"How did we end up in Iowa and not New York? I sure as hell didn't want to come here." Clint asked them. Tony and Scott shook their heads, neither knew.

"Will we try again?"Scott offered a suggestion. They re entered the quantum realm.

...

Clint sighed when they landed outside a circus tent. Tony and Scott stood up beside him. Scott frowned.

"What the fuck is this? Show off Clint's past day", Clint complained.

"Carson's carnival of travelling wonders", tony read of a poster. He grinned.

"We get to see a teenage Clint. Did you have acne?" Tony wondered excitedly. Clint shot a glare at him. The circus was not a happy place for him.

"Who is doing this? I thought the plan was to go back to New York in 2012?" Clint said in a quiet tone because they were still in the 80s. He was in the circus from 1984 to 1989. He left when he was 16.

"Maybe it's Thanos. He could have changed his plan", Tony suggested. Clint sighed.

"If we keep going and don't change anything then we'll get to Shield eventually", Clint explained to them. "We just have to keep me alive."

Scott jumped when he heard a scream and shouting. Tony moved in the general direction of the shouting. Clint gulped and followed Tony. He held Tony back.

Clint watched as the swordsman and Barney stood side by side with a briefcase. The younger version of himself standing opposite them.

"You can't steal from the circus. It's wrong", younger Clint told them. Clint made a signal for Tony and Scott to stay and to shut up. Barney laughed. Younger Clint had a clear look of betrayal on his face. The kid looked like he needed a shower and a decent meal. He had been training with a bow and arrow for 4 years at that stage. This was right before he left the circus, or the circus left him. Clint shut his eyes.

"It's wrong. I'll show what is wrong. Undying loyalty. It'll get you killed boy", the swordsman said as he punch Clint in the face. Tony went to move but older Clint held him back. Clint fell to the ground as the swordsman kept punching. He stopped when Clint was gasping for air. Clint wanted so badly to intervene but he'd needed this to leave the circus and join Shield.

Tony sighed internally when he stopped. he thought the whole point of this was to keep Clint alive not watch him be killed. The swordsman handed Barney a gun.

"Finish him", the swordsman ordered. Barney shot Clint without a second thought and they left. Clint immediately went over to an unconscious and bleeding Clint. He picked him up and hijacked a car.

"Get in", Clint instructed Tony and Scott. He drove himself to the hospital. He always did wonder who brought him to the hospital.


End file.
